Friday, November 25, 2005
Linus Wept
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Giant camel toe
Swiss guys excavate newly discovered prehistoric species of Mammoth Camels, as big as Giraffes, which roamed the El Kown steppes some 100,000 years ago. They apparently were tasty enough to be hunted by humans, based on nearby evidence of human hunting tools nearby.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Overheard at Eastern Indian child's birthday party:
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Richmond Times Dispatch: Lets not take sides against Suicide bombers.
My elderly mother has gotten into another scrape that is taking the chief part of my energies, after son and husband are tended to.
However, the following response to one of today's letters-to-the-editor was worth a spit take at breakfast, and it's short enough for me to share without much commentary.
(an online link to the letter will not be available until tomorrow, Nov. 10 - there is a one day online publishing delay. Follow this linkto the letters section.)
Times-Dispatch reader Susan Hardwicke of Glenn Allen wrote to express dismay at a photo chosen to run with an article on a bombing attack that murdered 5 Israelis:
News editors respond:
We felt the photograph selected was the most striking image available that was not too graphic to publish. Also, there were no available photos of grieving Iraelis families. There was no intent to show sympathy for one side or the other, but rather to show the general despair the attack caused.
[emphasis added by me]
How inexpressibly lame: Does it not sink in that the photos of carnage to great to be published in a family newspaper was caused by the wailing woman's brother? And Susan's point is valid - question the AP's bias. So why weren't there ANY photos of grieving israelis families?
No ,the whole point of that photo was to paint the dead bomber as having a "side" that must be considered equally with that of the murdered persons. Root causes, and all, don't you know.
However, the following response to one of today's letters-to-the-editor was worth a spit take at breakfast, and it's short enough for me to share without much commentary.
(an online link to the letter will not be available until tomorrow, Nov. 10 - there is a one day online publishing delay. Follow this linkto the letters section.)
Times-Dispatch reader Susan Hardwicke of Glenn Allen wrote to express dismay at a photo chosen to run with an article on a bombing attack that murdered 5 Israelis:
The Headline on an Assciated press article "Market Blast Kills 5 Israelis," grabbed my attention as did the accompanying photo of a tearful woman clutching a photograph. Imagine my surprise when, just as I was teeming with sympathy for her sorrow, I read the caption identifying her as the sister of the suicide bomber. The cherished photo whas that of the perpetrator.
Are we now supposed to feel sympathy for the killer or his sister as the "real victim" of such a heinous crime, or should the news editor wonder about the motives of the AP and why it focused on the killer and not the killed? Just for consisstency's sake, page A8 of the same edition should have shown photos of Iraqi terrorists instead of the the Virginia soldiers they killed.
News editors respond:
We felt the photograph selected was the most striking image available that was not too graphic to publish. Also, there were no available photos of grieving Iraelis families. There was no intent to show sympathy for one side or the other, but rather to show the general despair the attack caused.
[emphasis added by me]
How inexpressibly lame: Does it not sink in that the photos of carnage to great to be published in a family newspaper was caused by the wailing woman's brother? And Susan's point is valid - question the AP's bias. So why weren't there ANY photos of grieving israelis families?
No ,the whole point of that photo was to paint the dead bomber as having a "side" that must be considered equally with that of the murdered persons. Root causes, and all, don't you know.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Review of Iranian "Cartoon TV Funhouse" in five words or less:
